Effects of short-term supplementation with bovine lactoferrin and/or immunoglobulins on body mass and metabolic measures: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Given the role of the intestinal microbiota in obesity and related disease, strategies to modulate the composition of the intestinal microbiota may augment traditional weight-management approaches. Here, we examined the safety and tolerability of 28 days of supplementation with bovine whey-derived lactoferrin and immunoglobulin supplements in a cross-sectional cohort of free-living adults. Participants (n = 20 each group) received enteric-coated whey-derived bovine lactoferrin (200 mg), immunoglobulin (200 mg or 800 mg), combination lactoferrin/immunoglobuiln supplements (200 mg/200 mg, 200 mg/800 mg) or placebo in a double-blind design. Supplement use was generally well tolerated and routine haematology, and clinical chemistry measures were largely unchanged following supplementation. Measures of body composition remained stable and indices of glycaemic control and blood lipids revealed fluctuations of <5% but were not significantly different between groups. Overall, short-term lactoferrin/immunoglobulin supplementation was well tolerated in this cohort; use of these types of supplements to enhance other weight management strategies should be investigated over extended periods.

Keywords:

• Immunoglobulins
• lactoferrin
• metabolism
• obesity
• weight management

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the trial participants. The assistance of Dr Andrew Bulmer (School of Medical Science, Griffith University) with the clinical chemistry analyses is gratefully acknowledged. All authors have read and approve the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Amanda J. Cox, Lauren T. Williams, Allan W. Cripps and Nicholas P. West have all received paid consultancies for Probiotec Pharma Pty Ltd.

Funding information

The study was supported in part by Probiotec Pharma, Pty Ltd (Melbourne, Australia). Salary support for Amanda J. Cox and Ping Zhang was provided by the Griffith University Area of Strategic Investment in Chronic Disease Prevention.